UK weather: 'Snow blast' heading for Britain as temperatures set to plummet again

24 January 2023, 07:28

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Will a ‘snow blast’ hit the UK? The Met Office forecasters predict temperatures will drop again in February.

Temperatures have plummeted across the country this week, with the UK Health Security Agency extending their level three cold weather alert.

Up to eight inches of snow was recorded in parts of the country with temperatures dipping as low as -9C in some areas.

But it seems as though the freezing temperatures are set to continue next month, with snow predicted to fall at the beginning of February.

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According to weather maps from WX Charts, snow could arrive from Sunday, February 5.

The Daily Star reports a blizzard could hit Northern Ireland and parts of North Scotland on the evening of Thursday, February 2, which will then continue to drift southwards into Friday morning (February 3), covering a large amount of Scotland and areas in northern England.

The Met Office also says there is a 90% probability of severe cold weather and icy conditions for the whole of England for the rest of the month.

Dr Matthew Box, Senior Operational Meteorologist at the Met Office, told inews: “Currently some models are predicting that a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event will occur through late January or early February.

“SSW events take a few weeks to have any effect on surface weather, but when they do occur they increase the likelihood of outbreaks of cold arctic air affecting the UK.

“So at present we wouldn’t expect any increase in the probability of a cold spell initiated by the forecast SSW until the middle of February.”

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud also told the Mirror that "there's certainly the possibility of further cold snaps".

"There is still the risk of further periods of cold weather but at the moment we're kind of expecting high pressure to be centred towards the southwest of the UK as we move towards the end of January,” he said.

"So temperatures generally higher than what we are at the moment with some spells of some wet and windy weather across the west of Scotland."

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